Ode to the Knights
by MarcTheMedic
Summary: Edward Brandt, a Vanguard for the Rhode Island Knights of the Earth Urban Combat Championship, never thought he would amount to anything beyond a possible seat in the EUCC Hall of Fame. However the Reapers would prove him wrong, and so would a certain tattooed psychotic biotic. Rated T for violence, Jack will come into play in later chapters.


Ode to the Knights

" _ **And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war." - Revelation 19:11**_

The vibrations made from the crowd above matched the frequency at which Edward's heart beat. The ceiling stared down at him and the walls spoke to him in chants, one side yelling "Knights!" and the other howling "Dragons!" ad infinitum. He could feel the fluttering of butterflies in his stomach, the mounting pressure crushing him on the inside. On the outside, however, he wore a stoic expression that masked the nauseating feelings he had within.

Sitting alone on the locker room bench, it seemed he was the only member of his team who wasn't preparing extensively for the night's match. He studied his fellow combatants as they proceeded with their pre-fight rituals.

Biggs and Leonard were using the locker room speakers to rock out to ear piercing music, allowing Varrencage's guitar shredding and power chords to pump them up in a way no stimulant ever could. They slammed into each other with force akin to a biotic charge, despite neither of them being biotics. They were Soldiers through and through; near-perfect physical conditioning, and a love for all things gun. The team often jested that they could have been N7 if they weren't "so damn stupid" from all the concussions they took - and hid - when becoming professionals in the Earth Urban Combat Championship.

Natasha hid in the back corner of the room, studying her omnitool while noise canceling headphones concealed her ears, playing the classical music of Balakirev and Rimsky-Korsakov to soothe her mind and soul. A three-dimensional holographic model of the arena was what she focused on, searching for concealed locations where she could let her tactical cloak recharge, for tight, narrow corridors where she could lay a trap, for a high vantage point so she could easily neutralize the enemy. She was a wonderful strategist, and a gifted Infiltrator. In many ways, she snuck on to the team itself; at the EUCC Rookie Combine, her scores were relatively low for her combat class, but Goza saw something in Natasha and took her under his wing. After a couple of matches, Natasha proved herself to be a vital part of the team.

Shinji was checking, double checking, and triple checking his armor and equipment as he did before any match. "Not taking any chances" he'd say, but the fact of the matter was that Shinji was incredibly paranoid. An accident happened in the previous year that nearly cost Shinji his life, and since then he's been unable to shake it. However, as the team's juggernaut, its Sentinel, his responsibility was to draw fire away from me, Leonard, and Biggs, as well as provide distractions for Natasha when needed. Despite his worrisome nature, the team could always count on Shinji to do his job and do it right, even if he triple checked his stuff. Wait. Scratch that. Quadruple checked.

Goza was beginning to make his rounds around the locker room, checking in on each of us as he always does. The way in which he checked in on his team, however, reflected his deep understanding of the personalities in the room with him. When he approached Natasha, he made sure she knew he was there before talking to her, so as not to shock her, which was something she hated with a passion. When he met with Leonard and Biggs, he did not turn off their painful music, but instead spoke to them both through physical communication; a light push of the shoulder, a knock on the helmet. When he talked to Shinji, he didn't scrutinize or mock the sentinel's paranoia, but instead checked out the armor and equipment for him, to assure him everything was in order. He was a true leader, and a brilliant man to boot, which was why the Engineer was also our team's captain. He was selfless in his actions, especially on the battlegrounds where he had the least amount of 'kills' on the team, as he instead preferred to support the team rather than gain personal glory. He was, in many ways, what Edward wished he could have been. And for that reason Edward resented him.

But he was still his teammate. He was still his captain. He was still his friend. And he would never do anything to change that.

Edward shifted in his Reckoner-Knight Armor, which was called as such in throwback to the Providence Reckoners, who preceded the Rhode Island Knights as they were known presently. He still wore his stoic expression and had his hands wrapped around the grip of his massive, two meter long greatsword, with its point digging into the cement floor beneath him. Goza approached him as he always had: silent, respectful, and with the authority a team captain held over his teammates. "You ready, Ed?" Goza said, breaking the silence. "I've got my suit on, my swords as dull as a rock, and I've sat here for the last two hours going over everything that could go wrong in the first five minutes of the match. So yeah, I'd say I'm about ready." Edward spoke sarcastically often, but Goza understood that he wasn't doing it to be rude, but rather to let loose the pressure that was building up inside him. Goza chuckled and sat down beside his long-time friend. "Ya know, you can say it if you want to," Goza offered. "I haven't got a clue what you're on about," Ed replied, unflinching, and then countered, "Why? Something I should know?" Goza shook his head. _Stubborn as ever_ , he thought to himself. _Don't ever change, Ed_.

Satisfied, but also unsatisfied, Goza stood up from the bench knowing he shouldn't press the issue further. Before heading to his locker to get his equipment, he turned to Edward. "And Ed?" Edward looked up at him, "try not to showboat too much. You need the prize money to pay for the other fines you've racked up, remember?" The two men slowly found smiles on each other's faces, and Edward let out a short giggle at his friend's joke as Goza walked away.

 _No promises, boy scout_ , Ed thought to himself. He closed his eyes, laid his head back against the wall and felt at peace for the first time in the past two hours. He smiled.

 _No promises_.

" _ **When a team outgrows individual performance and learns team confidence, excellence becomes a reality." - Joe Paterno**_

"...and with the **staggering** record of 26-3 this season, fighting out of Providence, Rhode Island, comes the unstoppable, the indomitable, the indestructible Rhode Island Knights!"

The crowd swept to its feet and the massive arena was filled with an unending cacophony of cheers and roars, and a blinding light flashed onto the Knights' entrance to the battlegrounds, highlighting the team for the world to see. Although he was calm and collected before, Edward could feel his blood pumping just as Leonard and Biggs' had earlier. Adrenaline was seeping through his veins and, as if involuntarily, he began to hop quickly in place, ready to jump into the fray. The arena gate opened, and the six companions stormed the battlefield with an implacable fury unlike anything the EUCC had seen before. Edward could imagine just what the broadcast commentators were saying in the press booth:  
"And here comes the Knights, with Edward Brandt leading the charge with 'Helga' in tow. I tell ya Michael, that man has some true pride in his heart and conviction in his guts."

"I know what you mean Gabby. Heck, I remember when the league first saw him at the Rookie Combine three years ago; nobody thought a Vanguard wielding a giant sword would make it anywhere in the EUCC. It didn't take too long for us all to realize how useful he was in neutralizing 'Pawns' and fighting other combatants in close-quarters. A real asset to his team."

With his blood pumping rapidly, Edward could barely contain himself as a hundred thousand emotions bombarded him simultaneously. The sold-out arena, packed to the brim with eager sports fans, and even a few krogan, were chanting once again the names of the two teams. "Knights! Dragons! Knights! Dragons!" looped endlessly, but now Edward did not feel butterflies inside him and instead they were replaced by hornets; thousands of the little buggers in a frenzy, just **waiting** to get out and make a mess. While the rest of the team kept themselves to a calm demeanor, Edward just wanted to hit something. **Hard**.

The rest of the team, Leonard and Biggs included, called it "Bloodlust." Edward called it "Happy Hour."

Ed took one last look at the crowd before throwing his helmet on, and his HUD booted to life. First came the radar in the top right, then his team's vitals in the top left, and finally the suits power distribution and his own vital signs at the bottom. Goza asked for an audio confirmation from the team to confirm all was right. He pressed the button to turn his microphone on and responded.

"Aye."

Goza gave a thumbs up to the drone officials, signaling that the Rhode Island Knights were ready for war. The Edmunton Blood Dragons on the opposite side of the arena had given the thumbs up as well, and it was time for the battle to begin. The Knights stood ready, and in front of them a line of fifty combat training VIs, 'Pawns' as they were called in the league, appeared in front of them. Each carried an M-8 Avenger, and each wore the standard Systems Alliance armor given to its soldiers, although the insignias were removed to avoid backlash and remain respectful to the Alliance. The VIs, however, were not at all like simple bots that could be found in a video game. Rather, they fought like actual soldiers and reacted appropriately to any number of situations that could be thrown at them. While they always posed a threat, the athletes of the EUCC wouldn't be fighting if they couldn't handle a single soldier or two. If a group of Pawns managed to corner one combatant, however, it could easily be 'game over' if they didn't react quickly enough. That said, Edward's specialty on the team was dealing with the Pawns. Rather than retreat from a group of the VIs, he would use a biotic charge to get straight to the center of it and knock everything aside, and would then use 'Helga' to eliminate the Pawns from play.

While he mainly focused on dealing with the pawns, it was not uncommon for Edward to go after the human fighters as well, although those fights would often end in retreat for either side. But those fights were certainly the most fun, and the fans of EUCC agreed. He remembered a fight in the previous season against the Texas Rangers, where he and his opponent, Frederick Van Buren, were the only two human fighters left after a very long match. Van Buren used a shotgun with a bayonet attachment underneath the barrel, which made Edward's normal strategy risky at best and suicidal at worst. The fight lasted long after the scheduled time slot, with each man duking it out while simultaneously dealing with both team's respawning Pawns. Edward eventually goaded him into a circular area, where he would run in and out of sight, causing Frederick to use up all of his ammo and grenades in frustration. By the time Edward found his chance, he was exhausted and ready to collapse at any moment. But, with the last shred of energy he found in his body, he managed to fake out Frederick and hit him with a biotic charge before using 'Helga' to finally neutralize him.

As soon as the arena announcer proclaimed the Knights' victory, Edward keeled over and woke up later to find himself in Houston Methodist Hospital, surrounded by his sleeping teammates, each still in their Reckoner-Knight armor. Leonard and Biggs slept with their backs to the wall and their heads against each other, snoring as loud as a fighter jet. Natasha was curled up in the room's single chair, as silent in sleep as she was when she was awake, and Goza slept against the room's bathroom door, head in his hand. Shinji, however, stood at the room's entrance, quietly watching over Edward's recovery. He had bags under his eyes, but when he saw Edward stir he managed a sincere smile. "Mister Oshiro," Edward said softly, "I thought the restraining orders would have taught you not to watch people while they slept." Shinji chuckled lightly at his friend's joke, so as not to wake up his teammates from their combined slumber. The Sentinel walked slowly to the Vanguard's bed, the dim light from the shuttered windows colliding with the boots of his armor, the dust moving out of the way for him as his hulking form passed through the room. Edward reached out for Shinji's hand, and Shinji took it in his own. Although they came from different continents, from different cultures, from different walks of life, the two men knew that they were brothers. Edward felt that the Rhode Island Knights were as much his family as his father, mother, and two sisters were his family. The bonds ran that deep. Nothing could break them apart.

The countdown began for the match to begin. The crowd chanted along with it, and the resonance it created did not seem to affect Knights. Rather, to each member of the group the outside world seemed to fade away, and the battlefield before them was all that remained. Edward looked to his left, and then to his right. He nodded to Goza, who then spoke to his team.

"Alright, boys and girls," he said, "let's get ready to rumble."


End file.
